Top U.S. & World Headlines — August 14, 2023

[Music] welcome to democracy Now democracynow.org The War and Peace report I'm Amy Goodman in Hawaii the death toll from the Maui Wildfire has reached 96 continues to rise making it the deadliest U.S wildfire in a century Family Resource Centers have been set up to help survivors desperately trying to locate their missing loved ones this is a Maui resident who said this week in nine of his relatives are still missing how can I describe what am I feeling right now it's all all I can feel it underneath [Applause] itself I cannot describe the blaze decimated the historic town of Lahaina as it spread at a rate of a mile a minute propelled by wind gusts from Hurricane Dora of up to 81 miles per hour a lawsuit filed against Hawaiian Electric Industries alleges electrified power lines blown over by the high winds help the Wildfire spread at such a rapid pace and that the company should have de-energized their power lines after a high wind alert we'll have more on Hawaii and the climate crisis going to Maui after headlines in Niger the ruling military Hunter said they'll prosecute deposed president Muhammad bazoom for high treason following his ouster last month in the July 26 coup the U.S warned last week of the deteriorating health of bazoom and two of his family members that have been held in the presidential Palace in the army with dwindling supplies of food and no electricity meanwhile the Nigerian Islamic scholars say Nigeria's coup leaders are open to meeting with ecowas in hopes of coming to a diplomatic resolution after the West African Bloc last week said it had activated a standby Force for possible military intervention over the weekend a delegation of the Nigerian military traveled to guinea where they met with mamadi dumboya who is the interim president of Guinea after leading a military coup in October of 2021. he expressed solidarity with niger's coup as far as the Republic of Guinea is concerned we are pan-african when our people have problems we're always there and will always be there and that's what happened with my brothers in Mali Burkina and Niger as far as we're concerned we're the only ones who can find solutions to our problems Pro coup Nigerians have continued to protest against any outside military action on Friday they rallied outside the French army base in the capital Miami six Asylum Seekers have died after a boat carrying dozens of migrants to the UK sank in the English Channel several people are still missing while 55 were rescued in efforts largely led by French Coastal authorities the mayor of the port city of Calais Natasha Bouchard slam British policy which they say Saddles France with handling the mounting crisis at the maritime border All Surface systematic we are systematically being fooled by the British government when are we going to bang our fists on the table when are we going to threaten them with action so that they can put an end to it Calais is not the border of England they don't want to do the Dirty Work of saying I accept or I do not accept refugees in my territory this comes as two refugees including a baby have died after another boat capsized off the coast of Tunisia here in the United States a three-year-old toddler has died while on a migrant bus that was on the way to Chicago from Texas the child's death is first reported by Texas Authority since Republican Governor Greg Abbott began bussing thousands of Asylum Seekers to democrat-led cities last year including Chicago and New York CBS News reported the child was from Venezuela taiwan's vice president William Lai defiantly declared Taiwan will not back down to Chinese threats as he visited the U.S and what has been billed as a Transit stop on his way to Paraguay's presidential inauguration this week China vowed to take forceful and Resolute measures in response to his stop in the U.S which Beijing considers a challenge to its sovereignty over the territory he is a front-runner in taiwan's January presidential election he spoke during a lunch with supporters in New York City Sunday helping with Security in the Taiwan Strait is not only taiwan's problem but rather an international issue that concerns all the countries of the world when Taiwan is safe the world is safe when there's peace in the Taiwan Strait there will be peace in the world in the occupied West Bank mouriners marched in a funeral procession Friday for 23 year old Mahmoud Gerard who was shot dead during an Israeli raid in the tulkaram refugee camp at least eight others were injured this is Mahmoud Gerard's mother he was ambitious like other youngsters what the youngster wants to have a home marry everything disappeared a group of over 1500 academics from around the world including Israel and the United States signed a statement condemning Israel's quote regime of apartheid unquote against Palestinians they write quote there cannot be democracy for Jews in Israel as long as Palestinians live under a regime of apartheid unquote in other news from the region Palestinian officials including president Mahmoud Abbas welcomed their first Saudi Arabian Ambassador nayef Al sadari will serve as an Envoy to Palestine and Consul General in Jerusalem this comes as the U.S has been pushing for the normalization of relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel Jordan enacted what's been described by rights groups as a Draconian cyber crime law the legislation which will go into effect in a month includes fines and even prison for posting content deemed to be immoral insulting religion or undermining National Unity it also punishes people who publish names or pictures of police officers and ban certain measures that protect a user's identity a statement issued by over a dozen rights groups including Human Rights Watch said quote vague Provisions open the door for Jordan's executive branch to punish individuals for exercising their right to freedom of expression forcing the judges to convict citizens in most cases the UN said Friday it's completed the transfer of more than a million barrels of oil from a decaying super tanker off Yemen's Red Sea Coast this is a major disaster averted it was a ticking time bomb as many called it and it could have destroyed hundreds of thousands of livelihoods it could have affected the shipping up the Red Sea towards the Suez Canal it could have destroyed biodiversity and Fisheries for a quarter of a century in Pakistan a senator from Balochistan province has been named as caretaker prime minister ahead of Elections which are supposed to take place within 90 days following the dissolution of the National Assembly last week but it's unclear if Pakistan will be ready for elections by November after the outgoing government of prime minister Shahbaz Sharif approved a new census which the election commission will now have to rush to translate into new boundaries observers are warning a delay in elections could hand more control to the military which already exerts significant power in Pakistani politics former prime minister Imran Khan who's accused the military of going after him is imprisoned and barred from running for office on corruption charges that he's denied in Argentina voters cast their ballots in a crowded primary Sunday far-right populist Javier melee emerged as the surprising lead receiving the largest number of votes about 30 percent the 52 year old is an admirer of former U.S president Trump who's vowed to shutter Argentina's Central Bank opposes sex education wants to facilitate the purchasing of guns and is a climate crisis denier melaye has served in Argentina's Congress since 2021 he addressed supporters Sunday we are facing the end of the cast model that model based on that atrocity which says that where there is a need a right is born but forgets that someone has to pay for that right whose ultimate manifestation is that aberration called social justice Argentina's current president Alberto Fernandez is not seeking reelection as Argentina faces worsening economic crisis with soaring inflation the general election scheduled for October and Ecuador presidential candidates participated in debate Sunday night where they vowed to address violence and security issues following the assassination of the presidential hopeful Fernando via vicencio last week an empty Podium stood in his place while candidates held a moment of silence before starting the debate construya or the build political party has opted for journalist Christian zarita to replace via vicencio as presidential candidate reversing its previous decision to go for the vicencio's Vice Presidential nominee Andrea Gonzalez the election is scheduled for this Sunday August 20th meanwhile ecuadoran authorities have transferred a powerful gang leader accused of threatening via vicencio before the candidate was killed to a Maximum Security Prison some 4 000 soldiers and police were deployed to help relocate adalph omasias from a low security jail this kind says via vicencio's Widow blamed the state for her husband's murder they do not protect him as they should have protected him the state was in charge of Fernando's security the state is directly responsible for the murder of my husband Fernando via vicencio the state still has to give many answers about everything that happened his personal guards did not do their job I do not want to think that they sold my husband to be murdered in this Infamous way after headlines we'll go to Quito Ecuador to speak with the vice presidential candidate Andres back in the United States Kansas police raided a local newspaper the Marion County record and the home of its publisher and co-owner Joan Mayer Friday seizing computers and other materials one day later on Saturday the 98 year old Joan Mayer died the paper blamed the police action which it said quote stressed beyond her limits the raid reportedly stemmed from a dispute between the newspaper and a local restaurant owner who accused the Marion County record of illegally obtaining information about a drunk driving incident but it appears a newspaper had also been actively investigating the Marion Police Chief Gideon Cody after sexual misconduct charges at a previous job in Kansas City details about that investigation were on a computer seized in the raid now over 30 News organizations and press groups have published an open letter or to Marion's police chief blasting the raid writing quote Newsroom searches and seizures are among the most intrusive actions law enforcement can take with respect to the free press and the most potentially suppressive of free speech unquote the group reporters Without Borders said the seizure May violate federal law a federal judge in New York ordered Sam bankman freed to jail after revoking bail for the disgrace founder of collapsed cryptocurrency exchange FTX he'd been under house arrest at his parents home in Palo Alto California in the Stanford campus while awaiting his October trial on fraud and money laundering charges the judge said bankman freed twice tried to interfere with Witnesses in his case including giving reporters documents bankman freed is accused of using deposits and FTX for Real Estate purchases political and charitable donations attorney general Merrick Garland named David Weiss the federal prosecutor investigating Hunter Biden to special counsel prosecutors said they could not come to a new plea deal to settle tax and gun charges against the president's son after a judge rejected a previous deal last month the latest twist significantly increases the chance of Hunter Biden going on trial as President Biden campaigns for re-election in Georgia Fulton County district attorney fani Willis has called former Georgia lieutenant governor Jeff Duncan and journalist George chitty to testify Tuesday before the grand jury investigating Donald Trump's efforts to overturn Georgia's 2020 election Chidi is believed to have stumbled upon a meeting of trump supporting fake electors at Georgia State Capitol he was thrown out of that meeting a fourth indictment against former president Trump and his co-conspirators is widely expected from Georgia this week with possibly as many as 12 people indicted and in other news from Georgia activists campaigning to get a public referendum on cop city has gotten 80 000 signatures surpassing the minimum number needed to get the measure on the November ballot the vote to stop cop city has set a stretch goal of 100 000 signatures before it submits the petition next Monday and those are some of the headlines this is democracy Now democracynow.org The War and Peace report

Channel: Democracy Now!

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Id: CSrJ1G2TQfc

Length: 14min 24sec (864 seconds)

Published: Mon Aug 14 2023